Coffee makers which are able to deliver various milk products such as, for example, macchiato, cappuccino, white coffee etc, require a safe, sealed and interruption-free connection to the milk stored in a storage container for the supply of milk.
As a result of the need to store the milk chilled, there are two possibilities for the delivery of milk.
If milk products are only delivered occasionally, it may be appropriate to store the milk container in a chilled environment, preferably in a refrigerator. This container is only fetched as required and placed next to the coffee maker. The connection to the machine can be made by dipping a suction hose into the container. The milk container is then removed again and the parts coming in contact with the milk must be cleaned.
However, if milk products are to be delivered permanently, i.e. at relatively short time intervals, it is better if the milk container stays permanently connected to the machine in a chiller unit provided. Since milk products are enjoying increasing popularity, this arrangement will be increasingly used in future.
The last-mentioned arrangement has the consequence, however that the connection of the milk container is more inconvenient since the line(s) must be passed through the insulating jacket of the chiller unit.
Added to this, for various reasons the interior of the chiller is kept as small as possible for a predefined amount of milk. The associated disadvantages lie in more difficult handling when setting up for milk delivery and also for cleaning, longer hose lines and therefore hygiene problems, and increased liability to breakdown.
Known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,972 is a coffee maker having a device for providing milk froth accommodated in a housing of the coffee maker. The device for providing milk froth (hereinafter “frothing device”) can be supplied with milk by placing a transportable, milk-filled milk container in a spatial area under the frothing device and thereby connecting a lid of the milk container to a wall section of the coffee maker housing, which wall section is disposed underneath the frothing device and is aligned parallel to the lid of the milk container. During this process a fluid connection must be made at the same time between a supply line accommodated in the coffee maker housing for supplying the frothing device with milk and a tube element by which means milk can be removed from the milk container. The tube element is fastened to the lid of the milk container and has a section having an inlet opening for the milk, which protrudes into the milk container starting from the lid and is guided through the lid in such a manner that a section of the tube element extends vertically upwards above the lid, with the tube element having an outlet opening for the milk at its upper end. In order to make the said fluid connection between the tube element and the supply line to supply the frothing device with milk, a section of the tube element accessible on the upper side of the milk container must be placed over its entire length in its longitudinal direction into a section of the supply line protruding vertically downwards in the coffee maker housing. In order to ensure that the connection between the supply line and the tube element is fluid-tight, the tube element is surrounded by a sealing ring, which is disposed at a distance from the upper end of the tube element and is connected to the lid of the milk container. The distance of the sealing ring from the upper end of the tube element is determined so that the lower end of the supply line is brought in contact with the sealing ring when the milk container is connected to the coffee maker housing and the upper section of the tube element is thereby inserted into the lower end of the supply line. This type of provision of milk has the disadvantage that the milk container must be moved and positioned with great accuracy both horizontally and vertically relative to the housing of the coffee maker or to the supply line in order to be able to make a fluid connection between the tube element and the supply line. Making the fluid connection is therefore inconvenient, time-consuming and difficult to carry out or not practicable in confined spaces. In addition, the dimensions of different parts of the coffee maker and the milk container, which parts must be interconnected when making the fluid connection, must be matched relatively precisely to one another. The construction and manufacture of these parts is therefore relatively complex and costly.
It is the object of the present invention to avoid the said disadvantages and provide an apparatus which ensures a rapid provision of fresh milk for a coffee beverage optionally over a long period of time in a simple and cost-effective manner.